


Sapphic Blue

by VolarFinch



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - The Little Mermaid Fusion, F/F, Gen, I came up with this AU at like 10 PM and suddenly I was finishing writing at 2 AM, M/M, MerMay, MerMay 2019, Mermaid Jester Lavorre, Mermaid Mollymauk Tealeaf, Mermaid Yasha, Not really tbh, character list to be updated, mermaid au, tags to be updated
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-27
Updated: 2019-05-27
Packaged: 2020-03-20 12:08:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18992362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VolarFinch/pseuds/VolarFinch
Summary: Beau didn’t fully recognize what had happened for a long second. One moment, she was still on the boat, soaked but on firm setting, trying to acclimate herself. The next, she was suspended in the air, held aloft by the brief processing of her mind that said she was definitely 100% still on the bowrider. There was even the briefest instant where she thought fuck my leg hurts. However, it all came to an abrupt end as she slammed into the water.Well, that’s not good, she thought. |Otherwise known as the BeauJester Mermaid AU.





	Sapphic Blue

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my self-indulgent BeauJester Mermaid AU that I wrote just in time to use MerMay as an excuse. When I came up with this au, I literally said, "Here's an AU I'm never going to do anything with." I then proceeded to stay up until 2 AM writing for this AU and fic.
> 
> This AU is not properly worked out, nor all the chapters, so it may be a hot bit until the next chapter. Not entiiiirely sure if I'll actually write anything more for this AU tbh, but I crave validation and BeauJester content, so create the content you wish to see in the world amirite?
> 
> Thanks so much for reading, and please enjoy the fic originally called, "They're GAY and it's FREE MERMAID AU real estate" 
> 
> The title comes from a Hozier Song Lyric Generator that I kept clicking until I found a lyric that vaguely resembled this piece. Not sure what Hozier song it is. Feel free to leave a comment if you do know and I'll update this portion of the notes.

It was a beautiful day out.

Truly, a stunning view. Not a cloud was in the sky as far as the human eye could see, the sky infinite and pastel in its hue. The sun was not horrifically overwhelming, summer just beginning to seep into the air. The ocean was endless in its horizon, disappearing into a thin line that never hinted at a shore. The waters were clear until light could no longer breech its depths, visibility fading into deep, mystic blues. Fish, big and small, swam in schools under a boat leisurely, unbothered by the only human impact for miles around.

Three people were lounged about on the boat, a bowrider, and taking in the calm of the day. Finals and school had ended just a few days before, giving them the time to make it to the coast and unwind. The second oldest of the group knew a few guys in the boating industry––he could get a rent all day for cheap if they wanted. The other two had glanced at each other, shrugged, and said, “We got nothing better to do.”

They’d spent most of the day in the water, diving as deep as they could, disturbing the fish, and just lounging around. The ocean glimmered in the sun, a gorgeous cerulean that matched the three in varying ways. However, the day was beginning to draw to a close––the afternoon sun was beginning to set into the evening dusk, and they all knew they’d have to head in soon. They were a few hours from shore––it was probably best they started their way back now if they had any hope of returning before nightfall. Still, they spent a final few moments taking in the calm after months of stress and screaming and studying so intense one of them was beginning to get grey hairs at 23.

It was a beautiful day.

Naturally, something had to go and fucking ruin it.

Beauregard heard it first––the tell-tale sound of a roaring engine approaching from a great distance, overpowering the sedative lull of the ocean waves. She rose from where she’d been laying in the stern, turning to the source of the noise. She’d been taking in the sun and actually allowing herself to nap after all the sleepless nights and days of 5 Hour Energy coursing her veins. A small blip in the distance seemed to be approaching––it was kind of hard to tell with the sun in her eyes. Beau squinted, shielding her eyes, and tried getting a better look at whatever was approaching.

“The fuck?” she muttered.

Beyond that boat, she and her friends were the only other people visible for miles. Surely–– _surely_ the other boat would go around them. There was all this ocean. All this space. Why the fuck would any asshole driving a speedboat at a stupid number of miles per hour not go around the only other people in the entire godsdamn visible ocean? Really, what grade-A assholes would actually just not go around them. They weren’t not moving. It would have been easier than pretty much any other physical option to just go around them.

Still, Beau wasn’t that trusting. It’d be just her luck that a speedboat would kill her the one time she was actually in open water.

“Hey, Fjord?” she called up, keeping her eye on the incoming speedboat.

“Mm?” Fjord hummed, too deep in the overwhelming serenity to respond properly.

“I think we might have company.”

“S’just another boat,” he mumbled. “They can go around us. Big ass ocean.”

“I dunno,” Beau trailed. The boat was getting closer by the second, and it showed no signs of turning or going around them. “Caleb, can you see how far out the other boat is?”

“Huh?” The redhead sat up, blinking heavily as his book fell off his face and into his lap. Even Caleb was still a bit out of it, blinking wearily and suppressing a yawn. He rubbed his eyes and followed Beau’s gaze out. “ _Ja_ , seems to be about––ah, maybe forty meters out? Thirty-eight now.”

Beau tried her hardest to catch any clear detail of the boat. A name, a captain’s face, anything. Yet all there was was the sun glaring off the water and into Beau’s eyes, blinding her. She let out a hissed “ _shit!_ ”, tearing her gaze into the opposite direction. She blinked the dark blots out of her vision, rubbing her eyes, staring into the cobalt abyss below as something swam under them.

Something _big_ swam under them. Not whale-sized, but easily human-sized, zipping under the boat and _fast_.

The boat lurched slightly in whatever trail the creature left. Beau reached for the cleat to try and steady herself. She would praise herself under different circumstances for remembering what the cleat was, but she was a little preoccupied with not going overboard to care.

“What the––” Fjord sat up finally, fixing his sunhat. He glanced around wildly for whatever cause the boat to rock, hazel eyes landing on the  He _finally_ swerved to face the incoming speedboat, staring at it with wide eyes. He waved his arms out, something Beau interpreted as _go the fuck around us!_ However, the other boat didn’t seem to care, just drawing closer.

“Ah, Fjord, that is getting a little too close––about eighteen meters––”

“I can see the fucking boat, Caleb!” Fjord shouted, rushing up to the cockpit and starting the engine. From underneath Beau, the engine kicked to life. She felt her grip on the boat vanish as a face-full of salt water doused her. She sputtered, hands rubbing the salt out of her eyes with a curse. “Jesus Christ, what are these people’s _problem_?”

“Sixteen meters––”

“Caleb now is not the time––”

“Fjord, hold on one damn second––” Beau started, blindly reaching for the cleat again.

“Not the time, either, Beau!”

And just like that, the propeller kicked to life and the boat surged forward.

Beau didn’t fully recognize what had happened for a long second. One moment, she was still on the boat, soaked but on firm setting, trying to acclimate herself. The next, she was suspended in the air, held aloft by the brief processing of her mind that said she was definitely 100% still on the bowrider. There was even the briefest instant where she thought _fuck my leg hurts_. However, it all came to an abrupt end as she slammed into the water.

Beau’s eyes snapped open, her mouth slamming shut as she withheld the reflex to inhale. She tried to orient herself, desperate to remember what was up and what was down. The only real indicator was the swirling of the water about her, the remaining disturbance from the bowrider she’d been on a half second ago. Her chest ached, the breath she’d swallowed trying to eject itself from her lungs. She went to kick but stopped as pain shot up her leg. She let out a shout, slamming her mouth shut before she inhaled any water. She glanced down, feeling sick as she saw a dizzying amount of blood leaving her leg. It must have gotten sliced up by the propeller when she went overboard.

 _Well, that’s not good_ , she thought.

She forced her legs to kick beyond the pain, letting out a pained gasp as she broke the surface. She coughed violently, only half-aware of the fading bowrider in the distance that was very clearly missing her on it. She could barely move without her leg screeching in protest, and Beau knew she was fucked at least six different ways from the way the blue water around her was darkening with a red-purple tint. She couldn't see past the sting in her eyes, just vague colors and motions.

She tried to keep herself afloat, trying to clean the salt water from her eyes and catch her idiot friends' attention. Fjord and Caleb continued to ride away on that pinprick of a boat, probably not even noticing she wasn’t with them yet. Before she could shout for their stupid fucking asses to turn around and get her, a roar of a different engine approached. She twisted her body, coming near face-to-bow with the incoming speedboat only a dozen feet away.

“Shit!” she screamed, taking as big of a gulp of air as she could manage, and dove back under.

Beau pushed herself into the depths as best as she could, making little progress with her leg nearly unusable. She urged herself on, kicking beyond the pain and reaching for anything–– _anything_ ––to keep her from becoming chum in some dickwad’s expensive propeller. Nothing aided her as a great force that was probably the speedboat plowed on over her, tossing and thrashing her in its wake

Beau let out a reflexive gasp, curling up as all sense of direction and order was lost. Water rushed to fill her as she choked, oxygen fighting its way through her larynx to the surface. She couldn’t figure out which way was up, which way was down, or even where she was. She couldn’t see beyond dark, dark, some light, blue, dark. Her leg was completely locked up now, howling with pain. Everything _burned_ like she had swallowed a gallon of straight chlorine and injected acid into her bloodstream. She couldn’t think past the vague panic of _I’mgoingtodieI’mgoingtodieholyfuckI’mgoingtofuckingdie._

She was sinking. She could feel the pressure slowly building up around her as she descended, much _much_ faster than she thought she’d sink. Was she supposed to sink this fast? Fjord had told her how fast a person could sink into the ocean once, she knew he had, why couldn’t she remember?

 _This is so fucked,_ was probably not the best last thought to ever have, but it was the one Beau had as conscious thought left her.

The only thing she was vaguely aware of was colors––just the deep, rhythmic blue and the grace of sunlight beginning to set above her. The sapphire blue of the ocean seemed to inch closer and swerve around her, encircling her curiously.

 _“That sure is a lot of blood,”_ something said, words almost completely muddled. Probably Beau’s self-conscious. That thing was an asshole. _“I don’t think humans are supposed to lose_ that _much blood.”_

Beau barely paid mind as whatever oxygen she’d futilely been trying to keep left her lungs. Her eyes finally shut, everything slowly overpowering her functions one by one.

 _“Oh shit!”_ the voice said. It sounded far away now, like a distant passerby talking to their equally preppy friend. Beau could barely understand it. _“Oh shit, that's not good, humans_ need _oxygen! Shitshitshitshit fuuuuuuuck! Um, oh boy, I’m sort of sorry about this in advance! I don’t think I can really ask for permission but well, oh shit here I go––”_

Then, something had Beau’s arm. Strong, but small hands with sharp nails that dug into her skin a bit. Then, that something smashed their lips onto Beau’s.

A spark of electricity traveled throughout Beauregard at the contact, kick-starting every nerve in her body instantaneously. Everything came back to her in a split-second awakening, a sweet taste filling her mouth and traveling down her choked throat. Beau opened her mouth to more of whatever had her, and she felt something––some _one_ ?––giggle against her lips. She was kissing someone, and this someone was easily the best kisser _ever_.

Her entire body felt like it was engulfed in a bubble of sorts, a crackle of warmth spreading throughout her body. Lightning surged through every neuron of her being. The cold of the ocean was lost on her as the other pulled back, and Beau inhaled deeply. Water poured through her lungs, and while she impulsively coughed to get rid of it, she didn’t drown. Not as she had been moments before, no. She inhaled water fully, but only oxygen made it into her lungs. She gasped, blinking hard as she came too again.

Her hand hovered over her neck. She could faintly feel slits in her next, filtering the water out before it reached her lungs.

In direct opposition to seconds prior, Beau could see _everything_ . It was as if she’d gone from a pixel TV to a 4K TV––everything was bright and luminous, visible, clean ocean for _miles_. She could see large, dark figures in the depths,––whales, she realized abruptly––and the schools of fish beginning to return with the calm. The water’s tinge began to darken as the sun truly descended, rays of red-gold dousing the world around Beau in a display she would describe as gorgeous. The view, however, was minimal compared to the girl before Beau.

Or at least, Beau _assumed_ it was a girl.

The girl before her was nothing short of ethereal, the ocean a pure, personified being. Her most noticeable feature was her eye color––a bright, playful lavender that was scrunched up in amusement. She had a grin on her face, sharp incisors reflecting in the light. Her entire color scheme was oceanic, her hair a deep navy like the depths below and her skin the color of sapphires. Dark freckles were speckled across her figure, from her face to her inhumanly-long ears to her shoulders, arms, and torso. Dark horns curled on the girl’s head, bedazzled in all sorts of fine gold and silver jewelry. Where she should have had legs, the girl instead had a tail. Beau found herself doing her flirty once-over, more amazed and taken aback then fully flirting. The girl giggled.

 _“Am I so beautiful you’re speechless?”_ the girl––mermaid?––teased. _"Was I that excellent of a kisser?"_

 _Yeah, actually,_ Beau wanted to say. She couldn’t get her dumb mouth to work, gawking instead.

 _“You’re welcome for not letting you drown, by the way,”_ the mermaid said, pointing at Beau. The girl's nails were sharp and painted blue-purple. _“Cause I totally could have let you drown.”_

One of the mermaid’s ear twitched, and she turned.

 _“Oh! You’re friends are here to get you!”_ She offered one last grin and a wave. Beau kept staring at the sharp incisors. They were stupid hot. _“Byyyyyye, pretty human! Don’t drown after I totally just saved your liiiife!”_

Before Beau could say anything, the girl did a flip and completely vanished from sight. She stared with wide eyes, her brain unable to process the entire situation before her. _Pretty girl_ and _pretty human_ kept echoing around in her head. She heard a crash behind her, and Beau felt someone grab her waist and haul her up onto something. A boat. It was probably a boat. She could hear people calling her name, frantic and concerned, but all she could think of were purple eyes and jewelry-adorned horns and a smile with dimples.

Until, of course, she breathed in proper oxygen. Then the whole encounter was forgotten in the moment of _fuckfuckfuckI’maliveholyshitI’mfuckingalive_ and _Ican’tbreatheohmygodgeverythinghurts._ She coughed violently, her entire body curling up as she spat up saltwater. Caleb and Fjord fretted over her, and when Caleb suggested CPR, Beau practically hissed at them.

"I'm fucken _fine_ ," she rasped, throat still stinging from the salt. She could feel her heart still hammering in her chest, an adrenaline rush from the near-dying and the encounter with the girl. Her entire body felt too heavy, whatever fluidity she’d briefly had in the water gone as she slumped against the bowrider.

"You nearly just fucking _drowned_ , Beau!" Fjord argued, frustrated. Beau could see tears in the man’s eyes, his hands shaking slightly as he looked at Beau. “It’s a miracle we didn’t find you floating belly up! Do you think I could go through that _fucking_ bullshit _again,_ Beau?”

Beau felt herself soften.

“I’m alive, dude,” she said, putting a hand on Fjord’s arm. She gave a small squeeze. “Promise. All in one piece. Not going anywhere.”

Fjord stared at her for a long moment, trying to judge her words. He sighed, rubbing his eyes of the brine and tears, and nodded into his arm.

“I fucken knew I should have made you put on life jackets,” he muttered.

It was night as the shores of the Menagerie Coast came into view, Fjord quiet at the helm and Caleb pressed against Beau’s shoulder, both of them supporting the other. She could still see that haunted look in Caleb’s eyes as he stared at her, hands hovering over her as if she’d disappear. She’d squeezed his hand so tight he’d yelped, then let out a broken, watery laugh as he’d wrapped her in a tight hug. Beau hadn’t been entirely too sure what to do with the gesture, but she’d returned it and pat him on the back as non-awkwardly as possible.

Fjord pulled up into the marina, slowing as they approached the dock. They all unloaded in silence, Fjord and Caleb quickly giving up on trying to get Beau to rest when they realized they couldn’t carry everything. They packed up all their belongings, tied the boat up, said goodbye to the renter, and piled into Fjord’s car.

“We are on our way back, Nott,” Caleb said into the phone, sitting shotgun. Beau had taken up the entire back seat for herself, dozing slightly the moment the car's engine had started. “We uh, had a bit of a scare earlier, but everything is okay. No––no, no one is hurt. Beau fell off the boat and nearly drowned. Yes, yes she is fine. Yes, we checked for injuries. Yes her heart is actually beating and she is not a zombie––”

Caleb’s repetitive affirmations lulled Beau to sleep. She settled into the car as best she could, arms crossed over her chest, and inhaled deeply. The whole situation from earlier felt more like a dream now––the drowning, the kiss, the mermaid. Sure, her body still felt weirdly heavy, and she hadn’t adjusted to walking on firm land after hours at sea, but that was from hours on a boat, not… whatever that kiss had been. She was probably still in shock––shock did funny things to people, right? Sure, her leg was gonna hurt like a bitch once the shock actually wore off but––

Beau sat up at the thought, blinking aware as she peered at her leg. She pulled her pants leg up, eyes wide as she took in the faint scar running across her lower shin to her upper calf.

 _That was the gash from earlier_ , she realized. She could still see all the blood around her, could still hear Caleb and Fjord muttering about the alarming amount of blood in the water but with no injury on Beau. _It’s been… it’s been healed._

“I feel bad for whatever fella got hit by that fucken speedboat,” Fjord had said, shaking his head. His knuckles had been white had they'd gripped the wheel. “There was no real way that thing could have survived.”

 _Yeah,_ Beau agreed, breathless. Whatever ideas of the girl being a half-dead hallucination vanished with the whiplash of the scar.  _I really shouldn’t have._

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked this piece, feel free to read my other CritRole pieces, as well as my TAZ pieces if you'd like. You can find me on Tumblr @volarfinch and @a-dot-corbin (my art blog). You can also find me on Twitter as @a_dot_corbin.
> 
> If you enjoyed, please leave a kudo and a comment, and feel free to subscribe for whatever comes next!


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